Wahlberg confirmed for Transformers 4

CB Droege, 13th November 2012

Development picks up on the new film in the wildly popular franchise.

It was an interesting turn of events when an Internet rumor became self-fulfilling last week, namely that Michael Bay had already cast the lead for Transformers 4, with the actor in question being "Marky" Mark Wahlberg. Bay came out soon to dispel the rumor, but said later that it got him thinking that the rumors might be onto something.

"I squashed a rumor that was on the internet last week," the director of the first Transformers trilogy said on his personal blog last week, "It was about Mark Wahlberg. Mark was rumored to be staring in Transformers 4. We are working on another movie together, not T4. I had such a great time working with Mark on Pain and Gain, and he gave such a great performance – well let’s say that very Internet chatter gave me some ideas."

This weekend, a press release went out to say that Wahlberg has been cast, and the development is going forward with that assumption, despite not yet having a final script. It's too bad; I was sort of hoping for a strong female protagonist this time around, especially after last month's rumor that the upcoming casting call was looking for one, even though a casting call at this point in development doesn't make any sense. It's a double-shame if Bay specifically changed his mind about a female protagonist in order to cast Wahlberg. Then again, while some other news sources are saying that Wahlberg has taken the starring role, none of the press material that I have on hand here says anything that specific. It says only that he has been cast in the film, so, even if it's doubtful Wahlberg would take a supporting role at this point in his career, I guess that could really mean anything.

In addition to the Wahlberg news, we have a few minor plot details to show where Bay's head is at. Nothing spoilery, not enough is written to be spoiled yet. We only know that the new film will not be a reboot, as some had feared. It will continue the story of the 'bots from the first three films, and takes place several years past the end of Dark of the Moon.

The writer will be Ehren Kruger, who also penned the second and third films. The film will not be called Transformers 4, that's just a placeholder name. It will have a new subtitle like the previous films. It does have a neat logo already, though.

There may not yet be a completed script, but shooting is already slated for this coming Spring, so we'll likely be hearing of a finished script and some additional casting within the next few months if they want to stay on target. The film already has an announced release date: June 27, 2014, a prime spot of real estate in the Blockbuster season.